In switch, Boehner wants to pass House version of immigration BEFORE Senate’s

“Speaker John Boehner … is beginning to sketch out a road map to try to pass some version of an overhaul in his chamber – a welcome sign for proponents of immigration reform. If his goal is met, it’ll be a busy few weeks. The speaker wants committees — Judiciary has primary jurisdiction — to wrap up their work on a version of immigration legislation before the July 4 recess. And he would like immigration reform to see a House vote before Congress breaks in August. His goal is to begin moving either bite-size immigration bills or the bipartisan House immigration group’s legislation through committees before the Senate passes its bill , which could happen by the end of this month. The Senate Gang of Eight plan is on the Senate floor this week and is expected to get a vote before July 4 …

“Boehner’s thinking … represents a significant shift and suggests a new urgency for Republican leadership. It is a moderately good sign for the prospects of immigration reform in the House. … The leadership’s plan is to allow the bipartisan group to release its legislation and closely monitor how it is received by House Republicans. If it’s decried as too lenient, leadership could fall back on Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) small-bore proposals, which he has been slowly considering in committee. They so far include measures governing E-Verify, and changing the high-skilled and agricultural worker visa programs. Republican leadership prefers to move immigration reform in pieces, rather than a large bill. But that’s pure procedural calculation, since a House-passed bill would have to be meshed with any Senate bill before it is sent to the White House. … [T]he [House gang] – now down to seven members after [Rep. Raul] Labrador’s exit – [is] still planning on releasing a single bill. … Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) … announced on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ and with a lengthy statement on her website that she was supporting the Senate Gang of Eight’s immigration bill.”